1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a connector of the type for holding terminal fittings pressed into a connector housing and to a method of forming it.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-32220 and FIG. 8 herein disclose a joint connector. With reference to FIG. 8, the joint connector has a housing 1 made of synthetic resin and formed with oppositely facing fitting recesses 2 for receiving mating connectors. A thick partition wall 3 separates the fitting recesses 2 and is formed with a plurality of press-in holes 4 aligned at specified intervals in each of upper and lower rows. The joint connector of FIG. 8 also has terminal fittings with tabs at opposite ends. Middle parts of the terminal fittings between the tabs are pressed into the respective press-in holes 4 so that the tabs at the opposite ends project into the opposite fitting recesses 2. Bored portions 5 are formed to prevent surface sinks in areas of the partition wall 3 at sides of an alignment region of the press-in holes 4.
The intervals between terminal fittings have been narrowed to accommodate an increased number of required contacts. However, the narrower spacing has caused the resin between the press-in holes 4 to crack. The present inventors sought to determine the cause of the cracking.
As shown in an enlarged part of FIG. 8, the pressing of the terminal fittings into the press-in holes 4 causes compression forces x to act on the resin between the both press-in holes 4 from left and right sides. As a result, the resin tries to escape into the bored portions 5 and creates vertical tensile forces y in the partition wall 3. These forces are thought to be the cause of a crack k.
The invention was developed based on the above knowledge, and an object thereof is to prevent the formation of cracks between press-in portions for terminal fittings.